Zephaniah: The Day of the Lord Part 3 God’s Judgment on His Church

“For at that time I will change the speech of the peoplesto a pure speech,that all of them may call upon the name of the Lordand serve him with one accord.From beyond the rivers of Cushmy worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering.“On that day you shall not be put to shamebecause of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;for then I will remove from your midstyour proudly exultant ones,and you shall no longer be haughtyin my holy mountain.But I will leave in your midsta people humble and lowly.They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,those who are left in Israel;they shall do no injusticeand speak no lies,nor shall there be found in their moutha deceitful tongue.For they shall graze and lie down,and none shall make them afraid.” Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;shout, O Israel!Rejoice and exult with all your heart,O daughter of Jerusalem!The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;he has cleared away your enemies.The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;you shall never again fear evil.On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:“Fear not, O Zion;let not your hands grow weak.The Lord your God is in your midst,a mighty one who will save;he will rejoice over you with gladness;he will quiet you by his love;he will exult over you with loud singing.I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I will dealwith all your oppressors.And I will save the lameand gather the outcast,and I will change their shame into praiseand renown in all the earth.At that time I will bring you in,at the time when I gather you together;for I will make you renowned and praisedamong all the peoples of the earth,when I restore your fortunesbefore your eyes,” says the Lord.

What a beautiful end to the story! This is the story of the church, God’s true people. You and I are citizens of a nation to whom was promised an eternal reign. As a result, we can rejoice in having what earthly nations lack. We have a “high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Heb 6:20. Jesus “is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” 1 Tim 6:15 Rev 21:3 covers so much of why the church is blessed: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” But, most of all, God’s judgment has been funneled down into one, perfect person. Heb 2:17 “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

All nations will rise and fall, for all of them are lacking and imperfect. Zephaniah illustrates this in the case of Judah. The only nation that will endure forever is the Kingdom of Heaven of which we are citizens. God makes this very clear to us today…